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Dr. Paul Chambers, Director of Research, SEAIGS (Political Science)
pchambers@seaigs.org
Dr. Paul Chambers grew up in Norman, Oklahoma, USA. He completed a BA in Letters (Liberal Arts) and another in Spanish at the University of Oklahoma. He then completed an MA in International Affairs and an MA in political science, both at Ohio University. Following this, Prof. Chambers became a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand's rural northeast. He lived and worked in Thailand and Lao PDR for 5 years. "Ajarn Paul," as he is referred to in Thai, returned to Thailand in 2001 as a Fulbright fellow where he conducted research for his dissertation, which focused on democratization and political parties in Thailand. He graduated with a Ph.D. in political science from Northern Illinois University in 2003. In 2003-5, Dr. Chambers was a visiting assistant professor of political science at the University of Oklahoma. After studying advanced Thai in Chiang Mai, Thailand through a Fulbright-Hays grant in the summer of 2005, Dr. Chambers spent the 2005-2006 academic year as a lecturer at Chiang Mai University where he taught political science in Thai. His research interests focus on the international politics of Southeast Asia; dictatorship and democratization in the Mekong Region; and the Political Economy of Less Developed Nations. Dr. Chambers' articles have appeared in Contemporary Southeast Asia and the Journal of East Asian Studies, among others. He speaks Thai, Lao, Burmese, and, on occasion, he attempts to speak English.
Dr. Chambers is currently on an extended research leave at the University of Heidelberg in Germany where he is overseeing a book project on civil-military relations in Southeast Asia.
To see a list of Dr. Chambers' publications, click here.
Dr. Chambers is currently on an extended research leave at the University of Heidelberg in Germany where he is overseeing a book project on civil-military relations in Southeast Asia.
To see a list of Dr. Chambers' publications, click here.
Dr. Thein Swe, Senior Lecturer (Economics, Finance and Globalization)
tswe@seaigs.org
Dr. Thein Swe was born in Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar (Burma). He graduated from Rangoon University with a B. A. (General Honours) in Economics and a Master in Economics and Doctorate of Economic Science from Central School of Planning and Statistics, Warsaw, Poland. He also completed the Transitional Economics Program from The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia in 1995. He was with the Ministry of Planning and Finance in Myanmar and retired in 1989 as Director of Foreign Economic Relations Department. He was also the Advisor and later Alternate Executive Director of the World Bank from 1977 to 1979 and served as the Alternate Governor for the World Bank/IMF Annual Meeting in 1989. Dr. Thein Swe joined the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 1990 and was involved in development projects of ADB developing member countries. He was Deputy Resident Representative of the ADB Resident Office in Hanoi, Viet Nam from 1999 to 2001 and retired from the ADB in 2003.
Dr. Thein Swe has been teaching economics, finance and globalization studies at Payap University since 2003. His courses include Globalization in Asia and Pacific and the Greater Mekong Subregion for the South East Asian Institute for Global Studies; Macroeconomics, and Managerial Economics and International Finance in the International Business Management Program and International Business MBA Program, Faculty of Business Administration at Payap University. His research interests focus on regional economic development, especially in the Greater Mekong Subregion and the economic corridors in the region, and regional development / integration.
Dr Thein Swe has presented a number of papers on Interdependency in the Greater Mekong Subregion and regional cooperation in Kunming, China, Philippines, Myanmar and Thailand.
Dr. Thein Swe is the co-author with Dr. Paul Chambers of the book "Cashing in" Across the Golden Triangle: Thailand's Northern Border Trade with China, Myanmar, and Lao PDR (Mekong Press, 2011).
Dr. Thein Swe has been teaching economics, finance and globalization studies at Payap University since 2003. His courses include Globalization in Asia and Pacific and the Greater Mekong Subregion for the South East Asian Institute for Global Studies; Macroeconomics, and Managerial Economics and International Finance in the International Business Management Program and International Business MBA Program, Faculty of Business Administration at Payap University. His research interests focus on regional economic development, especially in the Greater Mekong Subregion and the economic corridors in the region, and regional development / integration.
Dr Thein Swe has presented a number of papers on Interdependency in the Greater Mekong Subregion and regional cooperation in Kunming, China, Philippines, Myanmar and Thailand.
Dr. Thein Swe is the co-author with Dr. Paul Chambers of the book "Cashing in" Across the Golden Triangle: Thailand's Northern Border Trade with China, Myanmar, and Lao PDR (Mekong Press, 2011).
Dr. Jenjit Gasigitamrong, Senior Lecturer (Thai Language and Literature)
jenjit@seaigs.org
Dr. Jenjit Gasigijtamrong completed a BA (Honors) in teaching English at Chiang Mai University and an MA in English Literature at Central Connecticut State University, USA. She graduated with an Ed.D. in Reading from Northern Illinois University in 2003. She also received a certificate in teaching poetry from Oxford University, UK. In 1995, she received a grant from the United States Information Agency (USIA) to spend time at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Vanderbilt University during which she earned a certificate in teaching Contemporary American Literature.
Dr. Gasigitamrong’s research interests focus on foreign language and technology; foreign language reading; and Thai literature. Samples of her foreign language web-based works can be found at the following websites:
Reading Thai: Novice level
Thai Language assessment
English Language Game (co-authored with Dr. Rosarin Adulseranee)
Thai Children's Stories Project (co-authored with Dr. Rosarin Adulseranee)
To see a list of Dr. Gasigitamrong's publications, click here.
Dr. Gasigitamrong’s research interests focus on foreign language and technology; foreign language reading; and Thai literature. Samples of her foreign language web-based works can be found at the following websites:
Reading Thai: Novice level
Thai Language assessment
English Language Game (co-authored with Dr. Rosarin Adulseranee)
Thai Children's Stories Project (co-authored with Dr. Rosarin Adulseranee)
To see a list of Dr. Gasigitamrong's publications, click here.
Dr. Ratanaporn Sethakul, Associate Professor of History
ratanaporn@seaigs.org
Prof. Sethakul grew up in Chiang Mai, Thailand and completed a BA and MA in History from Chulalongkorn University (Bangkok) and then a Ph.D. in History from Northern Illinois University. Considered a significant authority on Northern Thai ("Lanna") history, Dr. Sethakul has published numerous articles and books in both Thai and English on this subject. Her current research involves the history of the Tai-speaking peoples in the area of mainland Southeast Asia, particularly Northern Thailand, Lao, Myanmar and Southern China. She also researches the local histories of Thailand, social and cultural history of ethnic groups in Northern Thailand and related issues of tourism.
Dr. Sethakul spent the Fall 2010 Semester (August-December) as a Visiting Professor in Asian Studies at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York (USA).
To see a list of Dr. Sethakul's publications, click here.
Dr. Sethakul spent the Fall 2010 Semester (August-December) as a Visiting Professor in Asian Studies at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York (USA).
To see a list of Dr. Sethakul's publications, click here.
Dr. Napisa Waitoolkiat, Lecturer (Political Science)
napisa@seaigs.org
Dr. Napisa Waitoolkiat was born and grew up in metropolitan Bangkok. She graduated from Thammasat University with a BA in Political Science. Afterward she pursued graduate work in the USA, eventually obtaining both an MA and Ph.D. in Political Science at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois. Following this, she became a lecturer in political science at Naresuan University, Phitsanuloke, Thailand. In 2007, Dr. Waitoolkiat won a post-doctorate fellowship at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore as well as at the East-West Center in Washington, D.C. Her current research interests focus on emerging democracies (especially in Thailand) as well as in the areas of electoral politics, party politics, voting behavior, political institutions, the relationship between democratic institutions and political accountability, corruption, and processes of democratization.
To see a list of Dr. Waitoolkiat's publications, click here.
To see a list of Dr. Waitoolkiat's publications, click here.
Dr. Chris Carpenter, Adjunct Lecturer (Environmental Studies)
Dr. Chris Carpenter is a field ecologist with expertise in the Himalayan region, Southwest China, and the Mekong Basin. Chris received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Pomona College in Claremont, California. He completed his MS and Ph.D. in biological ecology at the University of California, Davis.
As a graduate student, researching forest ecology in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, Chris received a Durfee Foundation Fellowship to spend a year in China. This adventure, in the mid-1980s, when China was opening its doors to the world and launching market reform, sparked a long-term interest in southern Asia: its ecosystems, biological diversity, and cultural ecology. Since then, Chris has spent most of his professional career teaching and developing environmental field courses in Thailand, China, India and Nepal.
Chris enjoys teaching sustainable development through SEAIGS at Payap University. Other affiliations include the Wildlands Studies Program, currently part of California State University, Monterey Bay, and Betchart Expeditions, which offers academic study tours to scientific organizations and museum groups.
Chris’s research interests include patterns of species diversity on environmental gradients. How do history and the environment affect how many species inhabit a particular place? What temporal and spatial scales account for these patterns?
Chris is also interested in how mountain societies that have been isolated throughout their history respond to increasing contact with the social and economic mainstream. The assimilation of mountain peoples is in progress worldwide, but it is especially pervasive in Southwest China where national development and conservation policies mandate the ‘opening’ of ‘backward’ areas.
Chris’s hobbies include photography, natural history, and trying to learn to read Chinese. Though he is linguistically challenged, Chris manages to get by with conversational levels of Thai, Nepali, and Mandarin.
Dr. Ishwar Harris, Professor of Religious Studies (Hinduism & Buddhism)
Professor Harris was born in India, but is a naturalized citizen of the United States. He received his B.A.( Indian History/Asian Studies) from Lucknow University in India, conducted special studies at the International Christian University in Tokyo, obtained a M.Div. from Howard University in Washington,D.C., a S.T.M. from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley and his Ph.D.(Asian Religions) from Claremont Graduate School in California. Having taught in the area of History of Religions for nearly 35 years, he retired as the Synod Professor of Religion from the College of Wooster (Ohio, USA) in 2009.
Dr. Harris has published articles in scholarly journals, and is the author of three books: The Laughing Buddha of Tofukuji: The Life of Zen Master Keido Fukushima (2004), Gandhians in Contemporary India: The Vision and the Visionaries (1998) and Radhakrishna: Profile of a Universalist (1982).
Dr. Harris has taught at Payap University in the area of Asian Religions in 2003, 2007, and 2009 when he directed a semester long study abroad program for the College of Wooster before joining Payap’s faculty in 2010. His current focus of research is Hinduism and the Khmer Culture, Gandhian approach to conflict resolution, and Inter-faith dialogue. Prof. Harris teaches courses in both the South East Asian Institute of Global Studies and the Institute of Religion, Culture and Peace at Payap University.
To see a list of Dr. Harris' publications, click here.
Dr. Harris has published articles in scholarly journals, and is the author of three books: The Laughing Buddha of Tofukuji: The Life of Zen Master Keido Fukushima (2004), Gandhians in Contemporary India: The Vision and the Visionaries (1998) and Radhakrishna: Profile of a Universalist (1982).
Dr. Harris has taught at Payap University in the area of Asian Religions in 2003, 2007, and 2009 when he directed a semester long study abroad program for the College of Wooster before joining Payap’s faculty in 2010. His current focus of research is Hinduism and the Khmer Culture, Gandhian approach to conflict resolution, and Inter-faith dialogue. Prof. Harris teaches courses in both the South East Asian Institute of Global Studies and the Institute of Religion, Culture and Peace at Payap University.
To see a list of Dr. Harris' publications, click here.
